Hydrochloric acid is a strong, highly corrosive acid. It has many industrial and laboratory uses, such as producing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), leather processing, steel production, and the purification of table salt. Hydrochloric acid is also a component of gastric acid in the stomach, where it is used in digestion.
Hydrofluoric acid is a weak acid, albeit highly corrosive. Hydrofluoric acid dissolves glass and metals, so it has to be stored in plastic containers. Hydrofluoric acid is used for etching glass, industrial cleaning of metals and the manufacture of electronics. It is also used to synthesise fluorinated compounds such as Teflon and Prozac.
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